


Another Crew

by Heavens_Door



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-28
Updated: 2012-11-28
Packaged: 2017-11-19 18:18:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,931
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/576239
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heavens_Door/pseuds/Heavens_Door
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No matter how much changes, some things remain the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Another Crew

 

* * *

 

Rose Lalonde watched from atop the Beat Mesa as her friends arrived. They'd talked about what they were going to do already, and everyone, even Jade agreed it was the only thing they could do. Knowing that just made things feel worse. "You have no idea how long it took us to get these needles." Dave said. "And that Echidna was a bitch to beat." "Oh, you're just sore she tore your favorite suit apart Dave." John said. He was holding Echidna's quills in his arms. "I sure hope this works." "We're really going through with this, aren't we?" Jade said, frowning. "We're all going to disappear forever." "It's the only way." Rose said solemnly. "Dave, are you ready?" The Knight of Time took one of the quills from John. "There's no turning back now." "So, what do you think our lives would be like once we start the scratch?" John walked towards the crack on the mesa Bro created during his fight with Jack. "We'll still be friends obviously! There's no way that'll change!" Jade answered, trying to put as much cheer in her words as she could, but it sounded hollow. Tears were streaming from her face. "We can only hope that would be the case." Rose said as she and Jade walked to the crack. Dave took off his sunglasses as he walked towards the crack, the quill in his hand. He was trying hard to keep his cool, but in the face of utter destruction there was no point. "It's...been great knowing you guys." "Yes, it's been a pleasure being friends with you three." Rose said sadly. Jade couldn't stop crying. She gave her friends a hug, words escaping her. "We'll be friends forever guys, always." John held his paradox sister's hand and nodded to Dave. Without a word Dave dragged the quills through the diameter of the beat mesa, and once the task was complete returned to the side of his friends. As light engulfed the universe and reality rewinded the 4 kids held each other's hands, content with facing oblivion as long as they were at each other's side.

 

* * *

 

In another time, in another universe, a detective in a trench coat ran through the dark alleys of the city's red light district. Closing in on the detective were a pair of assassins in suits, one with a heart sewn on the coat pocket and the other with a club symbol on the hat. The city's top Problem Sleuth has just found out a terrible secret that could upset the balance of power in the city. If the Midnight Crew, the most powerful gang in the city found out about it they'll be able to rule the city with an iron fist. Problem is, they were pretty smart. You had to be if you wanted to thrive in a city like this. No sooner had Sleuth found out about this secret that the Crew had its best killers after the best detective in the city.

 

And they were getting real close.

 

Sleuth jumped over a bunch of boxes and climbed over a brick wall. It was difficult, but Sleuth knew there was no way the Crew's cronies could go through that wall. Nothing, unless of course one of the killers after the secret had a grenade rifl- BANG Godamnit. Of course Clubs Deuce would carry around firepower like that. Aside from being real good with heavy weapons Clubs Deuce wasn't that very useful to the Midnight Crew, but it was all Deuce needed to be one of its best members. Sleuth ducked into an alley that was both a dead end and had a wall too high to jump over. It seemed to Heart Boxcars, Deuce's partner and the big guy of the crew, that they had they had Sleuth trapped. The boss wanted Sleuth alive so they couldn't just pepper the detective with bullets now, so they had no choice but to leave Sleuth only partially dead instead of completely. Boxcars walked towards Sleuth, fists balled up to begin beating on the detective when a flash grenade exploded, stunning Boxcars and Deuce.

 

The gambit worked. Sleuth wasn't expecting the grenade to explode that early, but it looked like Lady Luck was on the detective's side. Sleuth ran past Boxcars and Deuce, headed into a practical labyrinth of alleyways to throw the Midnight crew off and entered a safehouse Pickle Inspector loaned to Sleuth, where Diamonds Droog and Spades Slick were waiting with their weapons raised. Lady Luck was so fickle. "Surrender Sleuth." Droog said. "There's no way you're leaving this delapitated apartment alive." "You ain't scaring me, Droog." Sleuth lied, because Droog packed way more firepower than Deuce did and in a smaller package to boot. "I got the information you and your crew need to rule this city, and I got back-up coming here any moment. I got all aces in my hand Droog, all of them." "I can see through your bluff Sleuth. Tell us what we need to know and you might get out of this alive." Droog aimed a really dangerous weapon at Sleuth's head. At least it'll take only one shot to remove a lot of weight on Sleuth's shoulders. "You wouldn't." Sleuth drew a weapon from a coat pocket. It wasn't as dangerous as the thing Droog had aimed on Sleuth's forehead, but if Lady Luck changed her mind the tables would surely turn. "You know what I got in my pockets, Droog. If I go down, I can guarrantee you ain't going to escape this alive." It was a classic mexican stand-off. First guy who moves is dead.

 

There was no way for either of them to break the deadlock, unless a third party intervened. Which was what Spades Slick just did. Before Sleuth could react Slick ran towards the detective and brought down his hammer. Sleuth collapsed, the sheer force of the blow knocking the detective unconcious. "Haha, I guess Sleuth didn't see that coming, eh, Droog?" Slick grinned, and his smile was like the one you saw when a shark was about to drag you into the deeps. "Took you long enough." Droog said with disdain. It was irritating, the way Slick treated their whole operation like an elaborate joke but he got the job done and he was pretty good leader to boot. "One more second and I would've blasted Sleuth's head off." "Aw, you wouldn't do that, Droog. Haha, the look on Sleuth's face when I smacked her with my hammer is priceless. This just isn't her lucky day." Slick smashed an old sewing machine lying around the safehouse accumulating dust and gave a laugh. Diamonds Droog sighed wearily as she slid her needle wand into her pocket. This operation could've been much quicker if they grabbed Sleuth as soon as she got the info, but no, that wouldn't have been fun. Later Clubs Deuce and Hearts Boxcars arrived, arguing. They were both discussing whose fault it was that Problem Sleuth escaped, until they saw her tied up and still unconcious from Slick's sneak attack. "See, if you didn't take my fucking glasses we would've caught that bitch." Boxcars grumbled as he put on those ridiculously cool glasses of his. "I already said I'm sorry, Boxcars! It isn't my fault you have the coolest glasses in the history of coolsville." Deuce squealed as she casually reloaded her grenade rifle. "And besides we at least got to see a lot of pretty lights while we regained our vision!" Boxcars was about to say something when Droog intervened. "Just as well. Slick knew where Problem Sleuth was headed anyway. It was a win-win situation. But next time don't do anything stupid like falling for such an obvious trap." She glared at Clubs Deuce, who was looking down on her shoes, and Hearts Boxcars, who was trying to ignore his irritation. "Hey now, what's with the angry faces!?" Slick appeared behind Deuce and Boxcars, putting a friendly arm on both of them. "What's important is that we got her. If you guys are still feeling that you didn't do much, why don't we take it out on Problem Sleuth!?" "I could go for some Sleuth beat downs." Boxcars said. "Yay! We're friends again!" Deuce grabbed Boxcars' arm and skipped towards Sleuth's body. "Gotta say boss." Droog said out loud over the sound of herself, Clubs Deuce, Spades Slick and Hearts Boxcars kicking Problem Sleuth in the gut. "Moments like these makes putting up with your shenanigans worth it." "What can I say." Slick sent a pretty hard kick to Sleuth's back. "I know what my friends want."

 

Inside an abandoned warehouse Problem Sleuth woke up tasting her own blood in her mouth and incapable of feeling her wrists. Some asshole must've tied the rope too tightly, the bastard. Thinking over the events that had transpired 3 hours ago, she remembered the bastard that tied her up in the first place. And he was standing right in front of her. "See Droog, what did I say? Haha, it'll take more than a good hour spent flatenning her intestines to take out good ol' Problem Sleuth." Spades Slick slapped Problem Sleuth's shoulder and placed a pipe in his mouth. "How are you feeling, dollface? Haha, You've seen better days." Sleuth spat a wad of blood on Slicks's shoes and gave him a shit-eating grin. "Whatever happened to chivalry, Slick? This ain't no way to treat a lady." Slick laughed again. He sat down on a chair in front of Sleuth and took a deep whiff from his pipe before blowing a cloud of smoke into her face. "Although I whole-heartedly regret the measures used in your situation, dollface, I am afraid that my past engagements with you have taught me...valuable lessons." Damn right she did. The first time Spades Slick got her tied up like this she escaped by asking him if he'd like to watch Con Air with her at the cinema, and the guy actually untied Sleuth and took her to the cinema. Since then he's gotten a lot more cunning, but Sleuth's always found a way out.

 

This time around, she wasn't seeing any. "So I did. I don't suppose you'd let me go for teaching you how to be a proper gangster?"

"Sure, dollface, for all we've been through I'd spare your pretty little face." Slick smiled. "After you tell me what you're doing hanging around some cruddy hotel room setting some papers on fire." Sleuth kept her grin."I ain't saying nothin." Sleuth bit down the pain as Slick struck her right arm with a mallet. It was a light blow, so she could still feel her muscles spasm. "I'll ask again, dollface." Slick lightly tapped his knee with his mallet. "Who gave you those papers you burned?" She grinned. "I ain't saying nothin."Another blow to the right arm. "Well?" "I ain't saying nothin." She still grinned, although for a split-second her lips twitched, which was the only sign of pain she'd permit Slick to see.  Another right arm hit, at the exact same spot Slick hit earlier. It was surprising how precise the bastard could be with a hammer. "Asking you one more time, dollface." Slick smiled. It was a smile full of humor and mirth, although it was the kind of humor cracked by executioners before they pulled the lever of the electric chair. "I'll be breaking bone with the next blow. Tell me who gave you those papers

 

Shit. If Sleuth was going to get out of this alive she was going to need both arms fully functional. Well, he was just asking for the guy who gave her the info, so might as well tell him. "Dunno who he was, Slick. Never met him before, looked like he was new to town. He just gave me the papers and told me to burn 'em afterwards." There was a brief silence, until Slick laughed again. "Haha, a likely story Sleuth. How do I know you're not lying to me?" Sleuth couldn't help but laugh as well. "Now why would I ever lie to you, Slick? Not even I'm lucky enough to risk something like that." "What did the guy look like?" "Trenchcoat, black fedora, purple tie. Your average mysterious drifter." "Now that's not very helpful, dollface. Maybe a good blow to the head would jog your memory?" For another second Sleuth's lip twitched. "That's all I know about the bastard, Slick. Believe me, if I knew more I'd tell you." "Haha, that's the truth isn't it Slick? Alright, I believe you on that one." That one hit her left arm, harder than the blows to her right. "Next question, Sleuth. What was on the papers?" That one, she couldn't divulge. Sleuth was pretty skeptical about the whole 'world-changing, balance-breaking power' business, which meant that it definitely was world-changing balance-breaking power business. With her luck, it was going to be. "I ain't telling you that one, Slick." Left elbow. She was going to feel that one in the morning. "What was on the papers?" "I ain't saying nothin." Left arm, broken again. Pretty soon she'd need a robotic replacement. "What was on the papers?" "I ain't saying nothin." Right hand, pinky finger. "What was on the papers?" "I ain't saying nothin." Right femur. She could still walk, but running would tear her leg muscles badly. "Coooooooome oooooooon, Sleuth, tell me what does papers say. I really don't wanna kill you." Slick frowned, like a puppy that just got kicked real hard. The worse thing about it was that genuine. And he stretched out his 'o's at precisely 8 seconds. She had a weak spot for that sort of thing. "It'll take more than this to get the info you need, Sleuth. Even if you set me on fire I wouldn't crack." She said. In all actuality, Sleuth was going to spill the beans after the next few blows, but she was good at faking she could take a beating forever. Now to see if she'd successfully baited Spades Slick.  Right foot. "Haha, that would definitely be throwing iron in the fire dollface."

 

Slick put down his mallet, and picked up a jar of kerosene. "But I'm perfectly okay with giving my good friend Ms. Sleuth a roast she'll never forget." Oh shit, he was really going to do it. Well, if her bluffs weren't working now, maybe raising the stakes would. "Let's not be too hasty, Sleuth. I ain't cracking now, but with me dead you'll never get the world breaking secret now." Sleuth pondered this for a moment. He put down the kerosene, picked up his mallet again and- WHAM! Sleuth swore she saw her life flash through her eyes, but instead of seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, she saw Spades Slick laughing his ass off and bits of squished watermelon all over the floor. "Haha, oh I got you good, didn't I, Sleuth ol' buddy. Fine, you win for now Sleuth." He gave Problem Sleuth a smile and slapped her shoulders, as if they'd just finished a game of chess and Sleuth just narrowly beat him. "I'll see you later Sleuth. Maybe next time you'll be more cooperative." "I suppose it wouldn't be too bad to ask you if to untie me, Slick ol' buddy?" Slick smiled that murderous shark-grin of his. "Wouldn't want you to miss a memorable event, Sleuth. After all, it's not every day you get to observe a demolition from the inside." Problem Sleuth screamed. "You wouldn't dare, you bastard!" "Aw, you know me, dollface. Anything for a good laugh. And trust me, Droog is finding your predicament hilarious!"

 

* * *

 

The Midnight Crew watched with some satisfaction as the building collapsed on itself through well-placed explosions. Having a demolition company as a front for more illegitimate businesses was very useful. "Aww, poor Sleuth was caught in that big and pretty implosion!" Clubs Deuce chimed. "Good riddance if you ask me. Too bad I couldn't cut her head off." Hearts Boxcars said. "She'll live. She's too smart and too lucky to die now." Spades Slick added. "I'll have to agree with you there, no matter how much I want her dead Slick." Diamonds Droog said. "Think she'll be more cooperative now?" "Maybe. Hey Boxcars, Deuce. You searched the room?" "Yep. Nothing but burnt paper and shitty motel smell." "Aw, looks like a dead end." "Or a diversion. For all we know this whole thing may be an elaborate gambit to throw us off the trail." "Oooh, I see something coming out of the rubble!" Something indeed was coming out of the rubble, and that something was Problem Sleuth, alive through a million-in-one chance. They couldn't see her well from afar, but it looked like she was rummaging through her pants. "Well what do you know, Droog." Slick smiled. "Looks like you're right." "Told you we should've checked her drawers." "Haha, next time we interrogate her I'll delegate underwear frisking duty to you, Droog." "Should we get her again, Slick?" "Nah. She deserves a rest after being such a good sport. And besides." He walked back to the car. "We have other business to attend to."

 

* * *

**Author's Notes:** This is an old fic I posted at the mspa forums sometime last year. I thought it'd be nice to upload it on AO3 now that I have an account. I'm not really interested in posting the rest or continuing this but if I did it'd be way different than what I originally intended.


End file.
